Homemaker Monday: Contributor Recipes for Whole Food Kids and Sweet Corn and Almond Chowder

Welcome to the 134th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes "Whole.New.Mom"! WNM posts a tip on the easiest way to remove garlic from it's peel. It's so simple, you'll wonder why you never thought of it yourself....

For WNM's Homemaker Monday tip, click HERE. Thank's so much. WMN, for linking up! We'll look forward to hearing a lot more from you in the future. And please feel free to grab the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar.

MINE: Today I need to talk to you about a couple of things. Firstly, let's talk about my Whole Food Kids blog. As you have probably realized, I haven't posted to Whole Food Kids in approximately eight months time. This is due to the fact that I have had to prioritize my time, and I chose to let most of my blogs, including one of my favorites, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, fall by the wayside in order to reorganize my priorities. It was difficult for me to give them up, and also the income they drew in, but it was the right thing for my family.

That being said, when "Naturegirl" recently left a comment here at 11th Heaven suggesting that I might invite guests to post on Whole Food Kids, I was intrigued. And the more I've have thought about this, the more enticing an idea is has become. It would be absolutely wonderful to get that site up and running again, and with your help, I think I can do it.

So here's the deal... If you have a whole foods recipe you would like to contribute, please use the following criteria...

1. Recipes submitted must contain only whole foods, not refined foods such as white sugar, white flour, white rice, etc. Recipes must not contain preservatives, dyes or anything artificial.

2. Each recipe must have a high-quality photograph included, but more than one can be posted, especially if the post is a how-to.

3. Please feel free to write an explanation of or introduction to how you came across your recipe or write about the experience you had with creating and enjoying it.

4. Write the recipe in the format shown below in the "Sweet Corn and Almond Chowder" recipe using keyingredient.com's recipe card system.

5. Compose this in a blog, such as blogger, then email the HTML code to mom2my9 (at) gmail (dot) com.

6. Don't forget to try your recipe on a real live kid to make sure it's kid-tested and approved! :)

7. Please include a byline about yourself at the end with a link to your blog.

That's it! So if you're interested in being a contributor to Whole Food Kids, please follow the above criteria and I'll be looking forward to your emails!


And now for today's Homemaker Monday post....

Sweet Corn and Raw Almond Chowder

As I have said many times before, John is an avid gardener, and nearly all year long we enjoy fresh produce from the gardens he works so hard to create and sustain. Currently we are harvesting corn, and in my zeal to use it while it's fresh, I began scouring the net for corn recipes. I googled "raw corn recipes" first and one of the first sites I came to featured a raw sweet corn and cashew chowder. I decided to put this together, but a few things went array in my attempt. And let me be honest, I didn't even think it would be good, because the ingredient list sounded off and somewhat sparse, but I thought I'd give it a go anyways because of it's health benefits.

First of all, when I went to my pantry, I realized we didn't have any raw corn left, only steamed and refrigerated or frozen. I opted for the steamed corn, cut it off the cob, and added it to the blender. Incidentally, if you have a Vitamix blender, you can heat up this soup right in the blender, but if you are using an inexpensive blender, you'll need to have a sauce pan ready.

My second hiccup occurred when I went to my cashew stash. Immediately upon opening the box, many tiny moths flew up and out into the room. Somehow the box hadn't been sealed properly and while we had been on vacation, a little moth family had created quite a posterity in my cashew store... my year's supply of cashews. It was a sad day. So the 15-year-old boy threw out the year's supply of cashews and I substituted almonds instead. I was concerned about this substitution because almonds have a skin that leaves raw recipes more gritty than if cashews are used. I was sure I was going to be disappointed.

And lastly, when I went to my garden to harvest the cilantro called for, I discovered that my cilantro had disappeared. I have no idea why. So I grabbed some of the Italian parsley planted right next to it and decided to substitute that for the cilantro.

And what to my surprise when I tried a spoonful, hot, right out of the Vitamix, and it was absolutely delicious!

(The 5-year-old boy is displaying an expression of impatience for the food, and the chef, not loathing for the soup. I'm promise.)

And I'm not the only one who thought it was delightful! Not all of my kids enjoyed it, but I would say about 63% did. We will definitely be making this again.

This soup was perfect with the other Sunday lunch dishes the 16-year-old girl threw together: grilled cheese and vegetable sandwiches, spinach salad, and plum halves....

I hope you love this as much as most of us did! Thanks for listening! :)

Ingredients

3¼ cups fresh or cooked yellow corn kernels (from 4 large ears)
2 cups water
½ cup raw almonds
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a blender, combine 2¼ cups of the corn with the water, almonds, olive oil, garlic and salt and puree until smooth. If using a Vitamix, blend for a total of 5 minutes or until steaming. Otherwise, heat soup in a pot on medium heat.

2. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels, the cilantro and a sprinkle of pepper, then serve.

MAKE AHEAD The corn chowder can be refrigerated overnight.

OURS: Okay, now it's your turn! I can't wait to read your Homemaker Monday posts! Thanks so much for your links and visits and I hope you have a wonderful Homemaker Monday!